Jan...in all seriousness, here's just the latest drop in estimates...There hasn't been growth here..and the stock at around 50x earnings. This seems to indicate that overseas conditions aren't as good as you had expected.
By Stephanie O'Brien, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:33 PM ET Aug 27, 1998
ATLANTA (CBS.MW) -- Coca Cola Co. shares dropped 5.6 percent Thursday afternoon in the wake of negative brokerage comments that cited the beverage giant's exposure to risky overseas conditions.
Merrill Lynch downgraded the issue (KO), a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to "neutral" from "accumulate." Doug Lane, an analyst at Merrill, said the Atlanta-based soft drink maker generates 75 percent of its sales abroad.
About 50 percent of those sales come from Japan and emerging markets, where economic conditions are looking shakier all the time, Lane said.
Coke shares fell 4 7/16 to 74 3/4 on heavy volume of 7.1 million shares.
Last week, Lane reduced his 1998 and 1999 estimates for Coke on currency concerns. He expects the company to earn $1.58 a share in 1998, down from $1.60 a share. He cut 1999 estimates to between $1.75 and $1.80 a share, down from $1.80 to $1.85.
(note, they made $1.64 in 1997) |
